Both Weak and Positive Data Highlight U.K. Economic Frailty

Two U.K. data releases Wednesday morning. On the face of it, two very different outcomes.

The British Bankers Association said net mortgage lending fell in May for the first time since records began in 1997, weighed down by weak confidence among banks, consumers and businesses amid the deepening euro zone crisis and difficulties in keeping U.K. government costs in check.

So, on the one hand consumers’ appetite to take on substantial and increasingly more expensive mortgage debt weakened, but their ability to spend on less expensive goods in order to celebrate over a four-day weekend rose.

But, on further inspection, the CBI figures were not as upbeat as you might expect.